Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said
Monday that the government has tripled investments in Italy's
jails as part of its extraordinary plan for the penal system
amid concern about overcrowding and a high number of suicides
among inmates.
"In 2024 alone, we have allocated an additional 10.5 million
euros, more than tripling the original budget of 4.4 million
euros, for a total allocation of 14.9 million euros," he said.
"As President (Sergio) Mattarella recently reminded us, prison
cannot be the place where all hope is lost, it must not be
turned into a criminal gymnasium; that is why the prison world
as a whole has been a very high priority since we took office.
"We have done a lot and we still have a lot to do.
"The attention and commitment of all of us is at a maximum.
"The government has strengthened measures for prison personnel".
Penitentiary police union UILPA said at the weekend that the
suicide of a 27-year-old inmate in Prato jail has taken the
total number in Italy's prisons up to 60 so far this year.
The union said six prison guards have taken their own lives too.
Prison-rights association Antigone said in a report released
last week that Italy's jails "are exploding" following a series
of recent disturbances linked to overcrowding, a problem that
especially acute during the heatwaves the country has been
having.
The report said the official overcrowding rate at Italy's
prisons of around 120% is too low because it fails to account
for the over 4,000 places that are not currently available.
It said the real overcrowding rate is over 130%, with the
nation's jails holding 14,000 more inmates than the number they
have places for.
Antigone said the prisons had 61,480 inmates on June 30,
compared to an official capacity of 51,234.
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